Well the past week has been pretty intense- good but busy. We left Mayong last Wednesday and had three days of vacation at a beautiful beach in the northern part of the island that we're on. Vacation was so relaxing. We just had some good time to relax and sleep and hang out. Friday morning we headed to our final village, Caranday, where we'll be for the next two weeks.
So far the people in Caranday have been very welcoming and receptive to our message- which is wonderful. We have two Bible studies going on there so far, and the people have been really interested in studying the Bible with us. Another helpful thing about this village is that we have a guide with us. She is a believer from the tribe we've been working with this summer. She's from another village, but a lot of her family lives in this village, so it's been really great to have her. She's been able to introduce us to most of the people in the village, and she is really excited about taking the gospel to her family. I'm so thankful to God for blessing us with her.
As far as living conditions, we're staying with a wonderful older lady, whom we call Lola (Bicol for grandma). She's welcomed us into her home and is sharing her kitchen with us- which is a huge blessing. It's so much easier to cook over a fire when it's at waist level and you have counter space! (Just in case you were wondering). Another small issue with our current location... our closest water source is the river, which is a fifteen minute hike down the mountain from where we are staying. Thankfully, the Filipinos have been wonderful to help us with getting water a lot of the time. It's just a little less convenient than normal. It's a beautiful area, and I love being able to hike here.
Please continue to pray for strength for our team. We're all pretty tired, and we have a week and a half left of ministry before debrief. So please pray for us to stay focused, but also to be able to get the rest that we need to finish the work that the Lord has for us. Please also pray for the people to have open hearts for the gospel and for the guys on our team to be able to connect with the men here.
The Lord has been so good to us- I'm so thankful for how I've seen Him work in and through our team this summer. He is a good God and worthy of praise. He is worthy of all of my devotion and no sacrifice is too great for him. I'm learning so much about being content in Him because He is my God and I love Him. Regardless of whether or not I have a toilet seat, running water (or any water), a real bed, or familiar food. I would rather be in the center of God's will than have all of the comforts in the world. He is more satisfying than rich food or a clean bed. My God is great and greatly to be praised.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Finishing up in Mayong
I can't believe it's already Sunday again! The past week and a half since we arrived in Mayong have flown by! People in this village and been extremely hospitable to us. We really feel like a part of the village. It's definitely been my favorite village that we've been to yet. Just to give you an idea of how hospitable they are- we wanted to camp out on the beach last sunday night, so the village Chiefton personally escorted us there and was worried sick that we were all going to drown because there was a storm coming. So she wouldn't leave until we promised her that we would stay out of the water. They really felt responsible for our team. On another note- the beach was gorgeous! It has black sand and we woke up to a beautiful sunrise.
As far as ministry goes here- we've been able to get three Bible studies started here in Mayong. Each one usually has anywhere from five to nine or ten people. The people here are pretty interested in studying the Bible. They even came out to our Bible study when it was raining- which is unheard of among Filipinos. Filipinos don't like to get wet, so if it starts raining they usually don't leave their houses. Our Bible studies have been mostly women, so we're really praying for God to open the hearts of the men here to the gospel. We've connected with one girls especially in this village who is extremely interested in learning about the Bible. She has a lot of questions and asked for a Bible so that she could tell people that visit her store about the Bible. So that's really exciting.
We only have three more days in this village. We leave on Wednesday and get a three day vacation before moving to our next village. I love this village and don't want to leave (except for the fact that I have over 100 bug bites... I'm ready to get away from the bugs definitely). Please pray for continued open doors for the gospel. There are so many religions here teaching so many different things that there is a lot of spiritual confusion in this village. So please pray for clarity and for God's truth to become evident in this village.
As far as ministry goes here- we've been able to get three Bible studies started here in Mayong. Each one usually has anywhere from five to nine or ten people. The people here are pretty interested in studying the Bible. They even came out to our Bible study when it was raining- which is unheard of among Filipinos. Filipinos don't like to get wet, so if it starts raining they usually don't leave their houses. Our Bible studies have been mostly women, so we're really praying for God to open the hearts of the men here to the gospel. We've connected with one girls especially in this village who is extremely interested in learning about the Bible. She has a lot of questions and asked for a Bible so that she could tell people that visit her store about the Bible. So that's really exciting.
We only have three more days in this village. We leave on Wednesday and get a three day vacation before moving to our next village. I love this village and don't want to leave (except for the fact that I have over 100 bug bites... I'm ready to get away from the bugs definitely). Please pray for continued open doors for the gospel. There are so many religions here teaching so many different things that there is a lot of spiritual confusion in this village. So please pray for clarity and for God's truth to become evident in this village.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Over the river and through the woods.... to a tribal ritual?
Well this has been quite the week! Megan, our supervisor picked us up on Tuesday and we got to spend Tuesday night with a missionary couple nearby before moving to our next village (Mayong) on Wednesday. We got some much needed rest and had time to do laundry and take real showers (aka not out of a bucket or a river). So that was amazing!
Mayong is a beautiful village on a mountain next to the beach- so let's just say that it's gorgeous! A river runs through the middle of it, so we can do laundry there. Laundry in a river is way easier than laundry out of a bucket, just in case you were wondering. So that's been wonderful. Instead of camping in this village, we're living with a family who generously opened their home to us. So that's been really neat. It's been really helpful for building relationships. This town has had a lot of ministry to women and children, so we were really hoping that the guys on our team would be able to build relationships with the men here, and God has opened doors for that to happen! So that's really exciting.
Ok funny story- when we arrived, we were introduced to the tribal chiefton, who invited us to go with her to a tribal ritual the next day. So Ray, one of our translators, and Donatello, Chelsea, and I went with her the next morning on one of the world's longest hikes (well it was about two and a half hours, but it was over three mountains so it felt like the world's longest). It was literally over a river and through the woods (or maybe a jungle. or a rainforest. I'm not really sure what it's considered here). When we arrived, everyone was really welcoming, and we got to spend some time hanging out with them before the ritual began. It was pretty crazy to get to see a real tribal ritual. Mostly they prayed/chanted and they had a table set up where they offered fruit and a chicken to their ancestors, the spirit of the land, and I think to God too. Then they ate the food and offered us some as their honored guests- let's just say that I never thought that the passage in 1 Corinthians about food sacrificed to idols would actually apply to me haha. We didn't really eat anything, but our translator took a little food to be polite. We camped out with the tribe that night and then hiked back to Mayong the next day. The whole experience was interesting and helpful for learning about their spiritual background. But it was sad at the same time. These people are very religious and very ritualistic, but that was all it was- a ritual. There was no joy or sense of a personal relationship. Please pray for us to be able to clearly communicate the gospel to them. God is so good to be a God who does not just want chanting and rituals, but wants a relationship with us.
So far I've learned:
- How to do laundry Filipino style
- How to tie abaca fiber so it can be woven
- How to speak a little Tagalog and Bicol
Thank you so much for the prayers and encouragement! Please continue to pray for us as we're in this village- the people are very open to building relationships with us. Please pray for an openness to the gospel as well.
Mayong is a beautiful village on a mountain next to the beach- so let's just say that it's gorgeous! A river runs through the middle of it, so we can do laundry there. Laundry in a river is way easier than laundry out of a bucket, just in case you were wondering. So that's been wonderful. Instead of camping in this village, we're living with a family who generously opened their home to us. So that's been really neat. It's been really helpful for building relationships. This town has had a lot of ministry to women and children, so we were really hoping that the guys on our team would be able to build relationships with the men here, and God has opened doors for that to happen! So that's really exciting.
Ok funny story- when we arrived, we were introduced to the tribal chiefton, who invited us to go with her to a tribal ritual the next day. So Ray, one of our translators, and Donatello, Chelsea, and I went with her the next morning on one of the world's longest hikes (well it was about two and a half hours, but it was over three mountains so it felt like the world's longest). It was literally over a river and through the woods (or maybe a jungle. or a rainforest. I'm not really sure what it's considered here). When we arrived, everyone was really welcoming, and we got to spend some time hanging out with them before the ritual began. It was pretty crazy to get to see a real tribal ritual. Mostly they prayed/chanted and they had a table set up where they offered fruit and a chicken to their ancestors, the spirit of the land, and I think to God too. Then they ate the food and offered us some as their honored guests- let's just say that I never thought that the passage in 1 Corinthians about food sacrificed to idols would actually apply to me haha. We didn't really eat anything, but our translator took a little food to be polite. We camped out with the tribe that night and then hiked back to Mayong the next day. The whole experience was interesting and helpful for learning about their spiritual background. But it was sad at the same time. These people are very religious and very ritualistic, but that was all it was- a ritual. There was no joy or sense of a personal relationship. Please pray for us to be able to clearly communicate the gospel to them. God is so good to be a God who does not just want chanting and rituals, but wants a relationship with us.
So far I've learned:
- How to do laundry Filipino style
- How to tie abaca fiber so it can be woven
- How to speak a little Tagalog and Bicol
Thank you so much for the prayers and encouragement! Please continue to pray for us as we're in this village- the people are very open to building relationships with us. Please pray for an openness to the gospel as well.
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